Modern Landscape Design

We have too many trees on our property and would like to create an entirely new look, but many landscapers we have talked to say they do not want to touch the trees. Do you ever clear property of trees when developing a landscape plan?

Most landscapers in general see trees as a special part of any landscape, and prefer to design their plans around them. However, there are cases in more modern landscaping designs where tree removal make work better for the overall, finished aesthetic. There was one project we did here in Houston that involved such a requirement. Our client was a personal friend of our company, and a well-known Houston art collector who wanted his home to be more visible from the street. He had so many trees in front of his home that it was barely visible even from the end of the driveway. He asked us to clear the property, and to create a more modern-looking landscape that would reflect the contemporary nature of his home architecture. We agreed to do this, as the type of modern architecture his home was built around was not a style that large trees would effectively compliment.

The house was a two story structure that was built in many ways to look like a work of contemporary art. Its front façade featured many unique curves and angles that reflect the geometry of modern statuary and abstract forms. The windows built exceptionally large, and were built that way intentionally to provide a lighted view of the interior where our friend showcased his art and sculpture. To create a contemporary landscape design that complimented, but also avoided overpowering the gallery-like appearance of this very eclectic design, we used traditional plant materials that would grow relatively low to the ground (to avoid blocking a view of the house), and we laid them out in geometric patterns that mirrored the curves and angles of the house. This supported the image of the landscape and stone driveway flowing naturally toward the front of the home.

To create a strong central focus on this new landscape, we built a circular, modern water fountain in the center of the stone driveway. We chose black granite as the building material for two reasons. One, granite speaks to the monumental, and we wanted to establish our client’s residence with an aura of neighborhood monumentation. Secondly, granite is used very much in contemporary architecture and even some forms of outdoor contemporary structure. We felt this would be the perfect fit to create a blend of stately sophistication and ultra-modern, eclectic tastes. We then added several touches of refinement to the fountain by polishing the granite so that it would reflect images of the water and the home to anyone standing near the coping. The coping itself was all radius cut, and built of polished limestone. The lighter color of the limestone created an archetypal contrast of light and darkness, further contributing to the modern theme of the landscape design, and providing a surface for illumination so the fountain would remain an established keynote on the landscape during the night.

We lit the fountain fiber optic cables that wrapped around the circumference of the fountain’s interior. This allowed the light to actually shine up from under the water as a perfect circle, illuminating the water with a sparkling effect that naturally focused the landscape and all of its surrounding features onto the modern architecture of the home. The new modern landscape design better suits the exterior of this very unique showpiece of Houston contemporary home architecture. Although ultra-sophisticated in nature, the new fountain and vegetation add a touch of organic fluidity that make futurism look as natural as antiquity.